So, for this post, I really wanted to try something different, something a little more organized and stuff. Also I will apologize for the lack of pictures present in this post. For the next (which is already almost done!!!) there will be pictures!!!
Things to be talked about:
1. Orientation
2. The flight (more about it)
3. Daily life here
4. Camp Fulbright
So for my past few posts, I feel like I have just made a lot of mundane points, really without substance. While I don't think that it is a requirement of a blog to have substance, I kind of wanted to give anyone who is interested a more comprehensive understanding of what it is really like living in Korea as a foreigner. This won't all happen in this one post, but I really want to try to make this blog something of a more helpful insight into the daily doings of a Fulbrighter, or really any English teacher in Korea. While I may not be completely an expert on any of the topics I try to cover here, I think I can at least give some good opinions for anyone interested :)
So let me rewind back to when I first arrived at Incheon International Airport. Aside from the fact that I almost lost my laptop, I would just like to take a moment to express the fact that I was completely DELUSIONAL after the flight. I have been tired before, but I think that might have taken it to a new extreme. I now appreciate sleep way more than I ever have ever. Also, I am happy to report that the compression socks were a big win. They were slightly uncomfortable at first, because I hate wearing socks anyways unless I am in tennis shoes (pretty sure my feet are claustrophobic), but I quickly became aware of how much more comfortable they actually made me feel for the long flight. I am sad to report that I wasted a total of 13 dollars on my inflatable foot rest (inconceivable, I know!...). The international flight had foot rests, so I didn't even take it out of my bag. I also basically wasted my over eye cover, because it helped me sleep 0%. The flight was pretty late, so it was dark literally the entire trip. My under eye patches were great, though! I may have looked like a complete tool, but I think that they really helped me to feel at least a little less like a pile of dirt after the flight. Surprisingly, the food on the flight was also really supreme. I was a big fan of the Korean food they served (bibimbap...a whole section to be explained later), but not as much of a fan of the egg "breakfast" they served.
So when we all filed out of the airport, I was stumbling and trying really hard to get my brain to work. Incheon airport wasn't very busy at 5am, so that was a plus. So 70+ foreigners all walked out of the terminal, through immigration, and then down to the baggage pickup area. Let me just take a second to shout-out to Korean airplanes for having their baggage pickup together. My baggage was already circulating when I arrived!! MAJOR WIN FOR THE EXHAUSTED RACHEL. After that we all went through customs (I was bad and did not declare my beef jerky, even though it was on the "quarantined material" list...oopsie...). Waiting on the other side of customs, I thought, would be a bright light, with food, water, and sleepy time!!! BUT ALAS, instead it was our OCT (orientation coordination team) waiting for us with paperwork and picture taking. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was less than enthused. I promptly signed my visa extension (my visa was up in June of next year, when it needed to be up in July) and wrote my fancy signature on a blank piece of paper (for our Fulbright ID cards) and proceeded to the picture line. Pictures were taken and that is when I realized my missing suitcase (see previous post for further details). After all of the paper formalities and small talk with my fellow zombies, we were herded like sheep to the loading area outside of the airport. FINALLY, THE SWEET FEELING OF A BREEZE ON MY FACE. The air was so fresh, so clean...or not really, but still. These huge vans came up to the curb and we all filled our suitcases into the vans (mine were a tad heavy so I needed a little help heaving them onto the vans). AND FINALLY WE WERE OFF. OFF TO THE MARBLE MANSION WE WENT. I slept most of the bus ride (because of obvious reasons), and before I knew it, I was in the most isolated place I have ever been in my entire life ever. Pretty sure I have become paler being here. Was not aware that was possible.
Anyway, enough of Jungwon. It's big, it's marble, it's humid, and it's moldy. Also, there was a rat. Yes, you heard right. A rat. Not in the room. But there was a dead rat. A dead rat. And a live rat. Yes, there were probably two rats.
Orientation is literally exhausting. It is so full of information and scheduling, I can't even. Our OCT's work so hard to get everything together, but man, I just feel so ready to sleep at the end of the day (hence why I have not been very regular at this whole blogging thing). So. For the first few weeks, basically the schedule was Breakfast, Korean Class, Lunch, Workshops, (free time if we were lucky!), Dinner, and then free time (sometimes there were events, etc. that were placed during this time, but mostly I would take this time to either decompress or hang out with people).
Don’t ask me what the food is like here. It’s not bad, it’s not my favorite. I like Korean food, so that’s cool. But I miss the drug-laced Chicken which is Chick-fil-a. And the mystical unicorn cuisine, which can only be found at Chipotle. But Korea has mad fried chicken game. So that’s coo. (not Chick-fil-a….but better than KFC, y’all). Most days I eat the free food tho, instead of heading to town…….or I eat from the Maejang (convenience store)….
KLCC classes are cool. I was placed in the “advanced beginner” class, which just means that we didn’t spend as much time learning how to pronounce the alphabet as the class below us. It’s the “faster” of the beginners. Since I knew a lot of vocab (except for rando stuff like “store clerk” and “bookstore”) and sentence structures sound really familiar to me…considering my ridiculous track record with k-drama’s…so class hasn’t really been too difficult. Except for grammar. Grammar is dumb. I fully appreciate the past four year taking Chinese now, since I did not have to learn jack diddly squat cakes about grammar. The ending, THE ENDINGS, I can never figure them out. AND THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM. WAE. Other than that, though, it hasn’t been super uber dooper challenging. I can really appreciate, however, how hard this class would be if I had never been exposed to the language before. Everything is spoken in Korean, and we move at an incredible pace. The course is supposed to be like 8 weeks or something and they are trying to squish it into around 5. It’s cray. I really appreciate how hard the people around me are studying…if only I had that drive to work hard and study still in me….
Oh well.
So…on to the next topic…July 21-August 2 here was a lil’ thing called Camp Fulbright. Background: Camp Fulbright was founded a while ago in order to bring a bunch of students from around Korea to Jungwon for a two week intensive English language camp. There were approximately 100 kids running around here, all with different English language levels, who were all super adorable. The punch line: all ETA’s had to teach two lessons, one the first week, and one the second.
So began my journey of learning the ways of teacherdom. I’ve taught college kids, but Korean high school/middle school/elementary school students are a whole new ball of lard. Long story short: they are adorable, but can be crazy.
First week: I taught a bunch of lower level English high school and middle school students. They were great. However, my lesson was not. I came into the classroom, feeling all daper in my professional clothing, and not a single student understood my lesson. A little more background…The days here had themes, and my day was “We sing”. Easy, right? Wrong. I went with the complete wrong approach. I tried to teach Frozen “Let it Go” and actually teach them the lyrics. But what was I thinking…like seriously…what kid is going to know what/understand in 10 seconds what “The snow glows on the mountain tonight” really means? My lesson was way too long, too complicated, and too abstract. On the other hand it was a fantastic teaching tool for myself. I really learned that I talk really fast when I’m panicked and I learned that at my level of learning it really is better to just teach concrete, small building blocks rather than large, abstract concepts. Good to know. My kids were great though. They still sang the whole song with me at the end even though they didn’t understand what was going on J
Week Too: I taught low level elementary and young middle schoolers. This class was crazy. But really solidified why I want to work with younger students. They really are much easier to get excited about things. Just act a little weird, and they play right in. The theme this day was “We stand together” and I taught a lesson about the Olympics. I was just happy that I could actually see some understanding in their eyes. I also had the most adorable little girl, Jaeyeon, whom I had hit it off with earlier in the week. She was a fifth grader and really good at English for her age, I thought. She told me I was her favorite <3 (shhhh…I’m sure she told all the ETA’s that though…) but I really had a connection with her. That was really encouraging too, because just to actually form a connection with a student is really different from feeling like you want to form connections with your future students. Plus, in this class I got to play a game, so I got to practice how NOT to introduce a game to a class. All-in –all I did see improvement in myself between the two weeks, but I still saw so many things that I need to improve on. Teaching I feel like is a never ending cycle of “what can I do better next time…?” and a lot of self reflection…Hopefully that will help me for the rest of my life if I get really good at it…
Ok so that is all I have the energy to write right now. I literally have already written more than half of my next post…so for those of you who are stalking me from America, you won’t disappointed for long!! Promise! Like literally within the next three days it will be up!!!
Thanks for the newsy post, Rachel! So glad to read about your experiences. Sorry the Frozen lesson didn't workout, but it was a great idea. Lisa and I saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie today and it was pure awesomeness. Stay well and keep on teaching and learning. You're gonna be great! Love you!!
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Rachel
I'm a recent graduate of the University of South Carolina who is about to leave my little hometown of Columbia, SC to move to South Korea for a year. Currently, I am teaching at 선산초등학교. That is to say, it is an elementary school in Seonsan-eup, Gumi-si, Gyeongbuk-do. Here's to it!
DISCLAIMER: This is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed here are entirely my own and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.